


First Meetings

by talesofsymphoniac



Category: Tales of Series, Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Alisha DLC, Childhood Memories, F/F, Flashbacks, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Use, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Memories, Post-Canon, Post-Game(s), Reincarnation, Rosali Week 2017, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 22:52:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9927686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesofsymphoniac/pseuds/talesofsymphoniac
Summary: Technically, Rose and Alisha met a long time ago.Written for Day One of Rosali Week 2017: Wait for me.





	

The first thing she sees is the waterfall, cascading down the cliff in a white rush. She blinks, taking in her surroundings; green grass, blue skies, the beginnings of a forest higher up on the hill, the water from the falls running down and emptying into a lake below. She can see a city built around that lake. Her destination.

How she knows that is a mystery to her-- she isn’t even quite sure who she is or how she ended up here in the first place, but for whatever reason, she's certain she's right. She glances down at her clothing, hoping for a clue, but she isn't wearing anything remarkable; plain tunic, pants, a solid pair of boots. She brushes the stray hair out of her eyes, idly noting its color; a gradient of vibrant red.

Well, no use just hanging around.

* * *

Alisha parried the hellion’s attacks, countering with a powerful thrust of her own. The creature burst into bright flames, then scurried away, pure once again.

“Amazing!”

Alisha smiled at Lailah’s praise, happier than she'd been in months.

She felt a bump at her side, and saw the reason for her cheer grinning up at her. “Not too shabby, princess.”

Alisha nodded firmly. “You also did well in that battle.” She could practically see Rose getting ready to make a teasing comment about her formal language, and somehow she was even looking forward to it, now. Her ribbing was easier to bear, even pleasant, now that the air was clear between them.

Mikleo spoke before Rose had the chance, though. “You make quite a formidable pair,” he agreed, taking the lead through the ornate hallways of the Elaine Ruins. Alisha couldn’t see Mikleo’s face, so maybe she was imagining the wistfulness in his tone. “We always thought you’d hit it off.” 

At his words, Alisha flushed with shame, remembering the way she'd treated Rose not so long ago. No matter how infuriating Rose had been, it was truly unacceptable behavior from a princess or a knight.

Rose, oblivious to her guilt, snickered. “‘Hit it off,’ huh? Yeah, something like that.”

Lailah tittered behind her paper fan, and Edna groaned. Mikleo turned back, eyebrows raised. “Do I want to know?”

“You’re kidding, Rose, but it’s true,” Lailah commented, a little more serious. “It’s remarkable, how close you’ve become in the short time since you met.”

Rose kept walking, raising her arms behind her head and casting Alisha a mischievous grin. “Technically, we met a long time ago.”

Alisha, though slightly puzzled, nodded. Rose hadn’t mentioned this before, and neither had she. “A few years ago, yes, I remember.”

“A few?! Try a decade!”

“What?” Alisha sputtered. Surely it hadn’t been that long ago! Why, she would only have been six or seven, which certainly wasn’t what she remembered.

Rose seemed to delight in her shock, preening with it, even. “Ah, so you really don’t remember!”

There was a moment of expectant silence, and when Rose didn't go on, Edna poked her in the side. “Are you going to tell us, or not?”

“Yeah, you can’t just drop something like that and then not tell us,” Zaveid added from his place trailing the rest of the group.

Rose grinned. “Okay, okay. Even before we were the Sparrowfeathers, we travelled around a lot, you know?”

“As the Windriders, yeah?”

Rose nodded, looking a little melancholy. “Yeah. Well, when I was about seven, we stopped by Ladylake. Brad was having one of his boring meetings with people, so me and my friends decided to go play outside while we waited. For a while, we just played in the front yard, but before long we got bored and decided to try to break into the backyard.” Rose laughed. “I still can’t believe no one was there to stop us, especially considering who we found back there.”

“Alisha?” Mikleo guessed, sounding amused.

“None of us knew who she was, of course.” Rose’s eyes were shimmering with laughter. “We just saw a girl our age, so we asked her if she wanted to play with us, never mind the fact that she was probably scared to death that we’d just barged into her backyard!”

Alisha chuckled. “I was.”

“You remember! We got in so much trouble after, let me tell you.” Rose didn’t look shamed in the least, looking at Alisha like a fellow conspirator.

“I did too, and I felt awful about it.” Alisha laughed, thinking of her younger self, in messy tears because she was so unused to being scolded. “I knew I shouldn’t have left with you, but, well, I didn’t have many chances to play with other children, growing up. I had some cousins, but they were older than me, and they never really liked me much. I couldn’t resist.” She shook her head, unable to help the smile playing on her lips. “I can’t believe that was you, after all! I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.”

Rose waved a hand. “Don’t sweat it. I wouldn’t have recognized you, either, except that no one would let us forget about how we’d kidnapped the Princess of Hyland herself.” She snorted. “None of us could believe the princess didn’t even know how to play tag.” Alisha felt her face flush. “Well, anyway, what were you talking about, if not that?”

Alisha gave an awkward little chuckle. “Oh, I was thinking of the time I arrested you.”

 _“What?”_ The effect was instantaneous; Lailah and Mikleo spun on their heels to look at Rose, eyes widening, open mouthed in shock. Rose nearly walked right into Mikleo.

Edna scoffed, breaking the tension. “I always knew you were a delinquent.”

Rose raised her arms wildly in protest. “I don’t know what she’s talking about!”

Zaveid snickered. “Then maybe we should let the lady tell her story.”

Just like that, everyone’s attention was turned back to Alisha. She flushed, feeling all those eyes on her, covering up the nerves with a shy giggle. “Oh… well, it was a few years ago,” she began. “I had just begun my formal training with the knights. We were called into the city one night because there was a large group of merchants making trouble at one of the bars.”

“They call out knights for that kind of thing?” Edna’s voice was bored, but Alisha knew she must be interested if she was deigning to speak at all.

Alisha raised a finger to her lips, fighting a giggle. “Well, not usually…” She told the story as she remembered it; making her way down the streets with the rest of the knights, finding the place in chaos, a veritable army of merchants, a description that seemed all the more apt when it ended up taking the whole squad to subdue them. Even then, they were still putting up quite a fight.

“I kept hearing them say something about their boss, so I demanded to speak with their leader. Imagine my surprise when the ruffians brought me to a girl about my age! And then...” It made Alisha flush to recollect this part: the way Rose had sized her up, got all up in her face, cheeks flushed from the alcohol, eyes and words shockingly clear even through her inebriation. _How’d someone as pretty as you end up as a knight?_ “A-and then I told her that if her group continued to cause trouble we’d have no choice but to take them in until they were sober again, and that was that!”

_“Hmmmm, you’d take me with you? That doesn’t sound so bad.” Alisha blinked rapidly, caught completely off-guard by the whole situation. Then the woman in front of her winked, then laughed. “I’m just teasing. Your blush is just too cute.” The woman turned around, cupping her hands around her mouth. “Hey! Sparrowfeathers! Time to move out!”_

“Huh,” Rose said, stroking her chin thoughtfully. “I don’t remember that at all.”

“I’m not surprised,” Alisha said quickly, struggling to get her flush under control. “You were really really drunk.” She felt her eyes furrow, and she looked at Rose with what she intended to be a stern glare. “You were way too young to be drinking so much!”

Rose didn’t seem to take her scolding seriously. “Yeah, I definitely regretted some of those nights,” she said casually, stretching her arms above her head idly. “Especially now, if it means I forgot whatever’s making you blush like that.”

Alisha stopped in her tracks. “I’m not-- R-rose!”

Rose laughed at her floundering, stopping and raising a hand to touch her cheek. “Ah, there it is! How cute!” Alisha couldn’t move, only make a little squeaking noise that even she wasn’t sure was born from embarrassment or whatever it was in her heart that fluttered when Rose touched her like that. Rose’s smile twitched impossibly wider, and before Alisha knew it she had spun around again, marching in front of everyone else.

“Come on, guys, don’t lag behind,” she called over her shoulder, sounding just a little too pleased with herself.

“Rose…” Alisha’s eyes were wide, her feet still frozen in place. Then she felt a light touch on her arm and turned to see Mikleo, shaking his head, a small, almost understanding smile on his face.

“Better keep moving, Alisha,” he said.

Alisha sighed, but found herself mirroring Mikleo’s smile: _Well, what else can you do?_

* * *

The city feels familiar, nostalgic, though she’s not certain how that’s possible when she has no memories to speak of. Some instinct guides her to the nobles’ district, but there's no way inside, so she turns around and makes her way down the streets, passing rows of shops, people chattering to each other as they go about their day, children playing in groups. She notices none of them seem to acknowledge her at all. A few times, people nearly knock right into her.

It’s a little lonely, she thinks. Instinctively, she knows she’s not quite like them, but they feel familiar, just like the whole city feels familiar, like something out of a dream.

She sees the building-- the Sanctuary, her mind supplies-- and decides to follow a rabble of kids as they enter. The moment she crosses the threshold into the beautiful church, everything stops.

For the first time since she woke up outside, someone’s eyes lock with hers: A woman with pale green eyes and honey blonde hair, tipped with blue the way her own hair is tipped with a darker red color. She is beautiful, and the feeling of comfortable familiarity increases tenfold.

 _Alisha,_ she calls, the name springing to her mind.

 _Rose?_ The woman is hesitant, like she isn’t sure she’s right either, but just one word and Rose suddenly remembers her own name. They move closer, drawn to each other, curious and uncertain, but as the space between them closes, Rose becomes more and more sure of the fact that she knows this woman.

Alisha takes her hand, and Rose suddenly knows she’s felt this before, too.

For a moment, they are both quiet. Wondering. Feeling. Reaching for wisps of memory before they have a chance to fade away again. Rose is the one who breaks the silence:

_This might be a strange question, but have we met before?_


End file.
